Trump administration files 2nd lawsuit against UCLA over antisemitism

US Department of Justice files civil rights lawsuit against UCLA, accusing administrators of allowing antisemitism to pervade campus life, creating a hostile environment for Jewish students.

By World Israel News Staff

The Justice Department filed a new civil rights lawsuit against the University of California on Tuesday, accusing UCLA of allowing a hostile campus environment for Jewish and Israeli students during the wave of anti-Israel protests that followed the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

The case marks the Trump administration’s second federal lawsuit this year targeting UCLA over antisemitism allegations.

Unlike the earlier case, which focused on Jewish and Israeli employees, the new complaint centers on students and the university’s response to the pro-Palestinian encampment that took over part of the Los Angeles campus in spring 2024.

The Justice Department said UCLA violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by showing “deliberate indifference” to discrimination based on race and national origin against Jewish and Israeli students. The complaint alleges students were assaulted, blocked from parts of campus and deprived of educational access because they were perceived as Jewish or Israeli.

“Earlier this year, we sued UCLA for subjecting its Jewish and Israeli employees to an antisemitic hostile work environment,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said.

“Now, the Department of Justice calls UCLA to account for its toleration of the equally appalling hostile educational environment against its Jewish and Israeli students.”

The suit focuses heavily on the April 2024 encampment outside Royce Hall, where protesters demanded that UCLA divest from Israel amid the war in Gaza.

The Justice Department said masked demonstrators created barriers and “human phalanxes” that prevented Jewish and Israeli students from entering academic buildings, while some students were slapped, kicked, beaten with sticks, pepper-sprayed or knocked unconscious.

“Universities have an obligation to maintain safe and inclusive campuses for all students,” said Bill Essayli, the first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California.

“Universities that violate our nation’s civil rights laws by repeatedly failing to shield Jewish students from antisemitism will be held accountable.”

UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk rejected the accusation that the university had been passive.

“Let me be direct: the suggestion that UCLA has been passive in the face of antisemitism is simply wrong,” Frenk said in a statement. “Combating antisemitism is a moral imperative — one rooted, for me, in personal history that makes indifference unthinkable.”

Frenk said UCLA had taken several steps over the past year, including hiring an associate vice chancellor for campus and community safety, reorganizing its Civil Rights Office, appointing a Title VI officer and strengthening policies meant to protect both free expression and campus safety.

The lawsuit comes less than two weeks after UCLA released a roadmap from its Initiative to Combat Antisemitism.

In a May 14 message to campus, Frenk said the effort was aimed at addressing antisemitism “and all forms of hatred and bigotry” and was built around training and education, improvements to discrimination reporting and stronger enforcement of campus rules.

The Justice Department is seeking court orders barring UCLA from unlawful discrimination or harassment of Jewish and Israeli students.

The lawsuit also seeks repayment of federal grants given to UCLA during the period in which the government says the university was out of compliance with Title VI.

The case builds on earlier legal action over the 2024 encampment. UCLA last year reached a $6.13 million settlement with Jewish students and a professor who alleged the university allowed protesters to block their access to parts of campus.

The settlement included payments to the plaintiffs and funding for Jewish organizations and antisemitism-related initiatives.